The "Where can I send this story?" thread
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Have you tried Every Day Fiction? They're always my first port of call for flash fic.
I'm trying to find a home for a 1700 word tale presented as a true story, about a brush with the supernatural that doesn't go much further than that. It's subtle, with a deliberately unsatisfactory ending. It's already been to Shimmer, and I can't figure out where else to sub it. Thoughts?
I'm trying to find a home for a 1700 word tale presented as a true story, about a brush with the supernatural that doesn't go much further than that. It's subtle, with a deliberately unsatisfactory ending. It's already been to Shimmer, and I can't figure out where else to sub it. Thoughts?
I've got a 2,800 word fiction piece that's mainstream in style with a little dark humor on the side. My main problem is that the whole second half is very NC-17. It's not really erotica because it's not particularly erotic. There's sex, but it's not sexy. It's not rape, just bad, questionable sex, written very explicitly. Does anyone have a suggestion for a place that might be open to something like this?
I'm looking for market with similar tastes as well. Anybody know somewhere?
I've posted this before but my post disappeared so I'm going to give it another shot. I've a 2600-word story about a bedridden obese man who's been maltreated by his carer. There are some funny bits (at least I think so) and a pseudo sex scene. There's also profanity.
I'm having a hard time trying to think of a genre for it. It's not a literary piece, that much I know.
Any thoughts?
I'm having a hard time trying to think of a genre for it. It's not a literary piece, that much I know.
Any thoughts?
It sounds like literary/mainstream from your description. What about it makes you think it's not?
Hi Polenth,
Perhaps I’m wrong, but as I understand it, literary writing usually focuses on the writing style more than the plot. I tend to strip my prose down to the bones and focus on the story development. I write "in scenes" and use a lot of dialogue "to show".
Perhaps you'd consider taking a quick look and tell me where I should send it. I’d really like to submit this story somewhere soon before I lose courage.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but as I understand it, literary writing usually focuses on the writing style more than the plot. I tend to strip my prose down to the bones and focus on the story development. I write "in scenes" and use a lot of dialogue "to show".
Perhaps you'd consider taking a quick look and tell me where I should send it. I’d really like to submit this story somewhere soon before I lose courage.
This is exactly the thread I've been looking for! I've got a 1,500 word short story that would probably be considered "literary" but it's also "dark and edgy," with a surreal bent, i.e. a brief scene of the afterlife. Another problem: the characters are mostly teenagers but this is not YA. It's along the lines of something by Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho) or Dennis Cooper but with a more populist sense of humor.
It seems like lot of places looking for literary short fiction tend to spell out "no violence" or "no strong sexual references." I need a good home for dark, transgressive lit that still makes you (hopefully) laugh out loud. Any help is much appreciated!
It seems like lot of places looking for literary short fiction tend to spell out "no violence" or "no strong sexual references." I need a good home for dark, transgressive lit that still makes you (hopefully) laugh out loud. Any help is much appreciated!
I don't have time to beta any work at the moment, but I will note that literary doesn't mean it's poetic. They certainly publish stuff that is, but a mastery of prose can also mean minimalist styles and so forth. Profanity is fine. Having a plot is fine. The main thing is the plots tend to focus on real human issues (even if the story is in a speculative setting). A bed-ridden man being ill-treated by his carer sets off the literary bells... so if you haven't tried the literary markets, you don't have anything to lose.
You might consider the horror markets. They're generally tolerant of all that stuff and open to non-supernatural stuff that's just weird or vaguely disturbing. Horror ain't just vampires and zombies.
The "horror" story I recently sold--see sig below--contains a young protagonist, minor profanity, no supernatural element, no sex and mostly behind the curtain violence, but it's still clearly horror due to theme.
Just grab the list from Ralan or Duotrope or something, make a top five list that works for you, and send it out in order. If you finish 5 without a sale it's probably been a while time to do a reread/rewrite if applicable, and consider whether the story should do another 5 or be retired.
(The concept of the thread that there's one magic place to send any story sort of rubs me the wrong way because virtually no story ever sells to the first place you send it unless your last name is King or something. Even stories that work tend to take 5-10 submissions to find a home. Prepare with that in mind.)
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Hi J. Tanner.
That's not the concept of this thread.
I'm not on the level of King's sweat socks, but about half of my submissions this year went to the first market, simply because I spent a little time choosing places that really seemed like a good fit, not just because they were in same genre or on a list. If I look back at past submissions, over half have gone to the first place. That's what this thread is about--getting as close as possible whenever possible.
I think it's fine to assume stuff will have to go out many times. In fact, I think assuming rejection is good, because there will be plenty. But to say acceptance at the first place virtually never happens is a mistake.
Shelley
That's not the concept of this thread.
I'm not on the level of King's sweat socks, but about half of my submissions this year went to the first market, simply because I spent a little time choosing places that really seemed like a good fit, not just because they were in same genre or on a list. If I look back at past submissions, over half have gone to the first place. That's what this thread is about--getting as close as possible whenever possible.
I think it's fine to assume stuff will have to go out many times. In fact, I think assuming rejection is good, because there will be plenty. But to say acceptance at the first place virtually never happens is a mistake.
Shelley
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I have a hell of a time deciding where to send stories. I look at all the guidelines in all kinds of venues, and the things I write never seem to fit any of them very well. And I am absolutely incapable of "writing for a market". I've tried, believe me, and the results have always been spherical dreck, dreck no matter how you look at it.
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I read the guidelines for things like specific formatting, min & max length, etc, but that's has almost nothing to do with what I send where.
Shelley
Raphee,
Thanks for that. Yes, I've tried Duotrope and many other sources, including researching publications recommended in how-to-get-published type of books and websites. The problem is that everybody seems to be fixed on the genre-specific stories, and this story doesn’t seem to fit into any genre.
Thanks for that. Yes, I've tried Duotrope and many other sources, including researching publications recommended in how-to-get-published type of books and websites. The problem is that everybody seems to be fixed on the genre-specific stories, and this story doesn’t seem to fit into any genre.
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Polenth,
I appreciate you telling me you are not available to beta my story.
I wasn’t thinking poetic. I was thinking more down the lines of the stories I read in The New Yorker, Glimmer Train, Zoetrope; even the winning entries of certain writing contests such Lorien Hemingway’s and the ones organized by the local libraries.
I appreciate you telling me you are not available to beta my story.
I wasn’t thinking poetic. I was thinking more down the lines of the stories I read in The New Yorker, Glimmer Train, Zoetrope; even the winning entries of certain writing contests such Lorien Hemingway’s and the ones organized by the local libraries.
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A lot of people say style, but I'd argue that writing style has little to do with it, or all literary stories would be in the same general style. Chandler's couldn't be more different from Faulkner's, or Hemingway's more different than Chabon's or Munro's. There's a little more attention to language and rhythm in many literary stories, but the same could be said for the best genre writing out there.
Here's what I've always gone by: Literary stories generally have action that's more internal while genre stories generally have action that's more external. Everybody note I said generally.
Literary fiction is also generally more character-based than genre (though top-rate genre fiction rises to this, IMO) which is often much more plot-based.
The best example I've seen comes from William H. Coles. He gives this (and I'm badly paraphrasing):
A Little Red Riding Hood story variation, literary--she strays from the path because she wants to pick flowers, and because of that she meets the wolf and is killed. Or she stops and eats from the basket, doddles and it gets dark, and so she gets lost and dies. Her desires and choices caused the action.
A Little REd Riding Hood Story variation, genre--she's on the path and encounters the huntsman who wants to recruit her to help him kill the wolf. She decides to and in carrying out their scheme is killed. The driving force here is external, the huntsman's recruitment, so this is more a genre-based plot.
On finding a market for your literary story, first look at the literary journals you read. If you have a very bare style then you probably enjoy writers with sparse, spare styles. Carve might be appropriate, as might similar journals that look for that lean, pared-down prose. Which journals do you like to read the best? Where have read stories that have any shared characteristics with yours? These would be the places to start.
Shelley
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Fair enough. I probably overstated what I was trying to get across but it's not worth trying to restate, so I'll just conceed the point.
Hm. First, congrats on the success. I want this to not sound personal, but that will be a bit tough coming as a direct response. It looks like you've been around here a while so I'll assume thick skin and just say it.
I think a writer who follows that path can quite often sell themselves short. Try the best market (highest paying, most prestigious) with a chance rather than the market that's the best fit first. I think a lot of writers get sucked into irrelevent details like how quick someplace responds, or "selling" to someplace that has less competition because they pay token rates (or nothing), or--as we'll assume your case is--a market that truly is a great fit, but perhaps should not have been the first choice.
So, for example, SF stories should always go to F&SF and Asimov's first unless they explicitly violate something about the guidelines. Even if they're a longshot, you take the longshot no matter how much you think the story will be a perfect fit for On Spec, or Interzone or something.
So maybe you've sold to a lot of really great markets--but selling half your output to them seems unlikely so I'm guessing your story is a bit different from that.
This is, of course, just opinion. But it's based on advice from people a lot more successful than I, and that advice has served me well to this point so I'm just passing it along.
(From your profile it looks like you write horror, and that's admittedly a lot more fluid market without a long term established pecking order of markets.)
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That's almost always a bad sign, like statements that start with "I don't mean to offend you, but..."
I expected this response, actually, and yeah, my skin's pretty tough so I don't mind at all. I understand it, and to a point I really do agree with you. It's where you start throwing around the 'should always' that we split off. Is the way you do things a good idea for many or most writers? I'd go so far as to say maybe-to-probably. But not all.
Wouldn't it be great if there was a one-size-fits-all? But there's not.
A writer I greatly admire does it the way I do it. According to you, he's done it all wrong. He's published five novels, placed in prestigious comps like Bridport, Fish, won several first prizes, been in the Mississippi Review, The Atlantic's online Unbound thing when it came out, has a collection of shorts put out by a fairly prestigious literary press, etc. If the method or leveling up that he explained to me is good enough for him, I'm fine with it. It's working for me so far.
When I have a story that I know goes beyond what I've produced before, I do start at the top. But if I had to send every literary story to The New Yorker, Paris Review, Granta, The Atlantic and on down every time, I'd be one seriously tired and discouraged gal. Self-rejection is bad--sending a story to the lowest or no-paying places or the ones that take almost everything just so it's more likely to be picked up, instead of giving it a chance somewhere else. But it has to be tempered with a bit of realism. I personally think that if more brand new writers would start with their sights a little bit lower than the top of the mountain, they'd get further with less discouragement, grow faster as writers, and enjoy themselves a heck of a lot more on the way. But that's just my theory.
Another point against sending everything top tier and going down every time no madda wha is that I enjoy writing for themed anthologies, themed issues, etc. Doing this gives me a writing rush--I like using prompts, working to a specific theme. I'm really pleased at some of places my writing has appeared, which in some cases I've written stories specifically for, because I enjoy reading those places. They're solid print and online magazines I'm proud to be in, even if they don't pay a nickel a word or make Best Of lists. Do I feel like getting a story into an online zine that pays $10 is on a level with someone who got a story into Asimov's? No, of course not. However, regardless of what other people might think of it (which, let's be honest, most people know I'm not too concerned with), it can still be a point of pride for me. I can be happy about it, no matter who sneers or dismisses.
Despite your statements that "you must" (echo and thunder) do things your way, making absolute statements about what is and ought to be and what never happens for other people should probably be avoided. Except in cases of "if you've been chopping jalapenos, always wash your hands before you pee" and "never spit into the wind" and such, absolutes usually aren't.
I wish you the best in your writing career, I sincerely do. If your method works for, by all means keep doing it! I would never presume to say you must do it my way, because this great writer once gave me the advice I follow. When I reach the point where I even slightly suspect I'm producing stories of a high enough quality I'll probably start at the top every time, too. Until then, though, and I'm not saying this with a "bitchy" tone at all, just a slightly amazed one, who are you tell me I'm doing it all wrong? I don't even have any absolute way of doing it all the time even from story to story, let alone for every one.
You go your way, I'll go mine, we'll both enjoy our respective journeys, and I hope we shake hands up at the top somewhere.
Shelley
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There are cerainly no absolutes, and not following any particular bit of advice never means anyone is doing it "all wrong."
And I don't know enough about your particular case to say where you fit in. As I said, while responding to a post made by you, it was intended to be a more general point that I've seen from a number of young writers. It's for each individual to evaluate the advice, look at their situation, and see if it applies. If it doesn't apply to you, cool, no worries.
Every writer's path to success is different. And I've ignored advice from writers I respect, and broken my own "rules" too on a case by case basis.
About all I can really say in regards to you specifically is that if you're selling to the first place you submit half the time you may be a better writer than you think you are and might want to take a few more risks, even if it ain't the New Yorker.
And I don't know enough about your particular case to say where you fit in. As I said, while responding to a post made by you, it was intended to be a more general point that I've seen from a number of young writers. It's for each individual to evaluate the advice, look at their situation, and see if it applies. If it doesn't apply to you, cool, no worries.
Every writer's path to success is different. And I've ignored advice from writers I respect, and broken my own "rules" too on a case by case basis.
About all I can really say in regards to you specifically is that if you're selling to the first place you submit half the time you may be a better writer than you think you are and might want to take a few more risks, even if it ain't the New Yorker.
I understand the idea of sending to the top markets first, and I do it for some of my stories.
However, there is a problem that arises. For instance, I have a story at Asimov's. They won't buy it, but what the hell. But now it's there for weeks, if not longer, waiting for it's R. And until it's back I can't send anything else there.
Apart from really quick places like Lightspeed or Fantasy, the big markets get knocked of the list of places to send too, just because I already have something there.
And I don't want a pile of stories just waiting, so they can all get their R from Asimov's (or whatever) before I try them elsewhere.
The only one I've sold went to Brain Harvest. I didn't write it for them, I wrote it for the Flash Challenge. But once it was written I knew it had to go to BH. It seemed perfect for them. So it did, and it was, because they bought it. And I couldn't be happier, because BH is just so damn cool.
However, there is a problem that arises. For instance, I have a story at Asimov's. They won't buy it, but what the hell. But now it's there for weeks, if not longer, waiting for it's R. And until it's back I can't send anything else there.
Apart from really quick places like Lightspeed or Fantasy, the big markets get knocked of the list of places to send too, just because I already have something there.
And I don't want a pile of stories just waiting, so they can all get their R from Asimov's (or whatever) before I try them elsewhere.
The only one I've sold went to Brain Harvest. I didn't write it for them, I wrote it for the Flash Challenge. But once it was written I knew it had to go to BH. It seemed perfect for them. So it did, and it was, because they bought it. And I couldn't be happier, because BH is just so damn cool.
This seems like a perfectly reasonable compromise for someone writing and submitting stories in a narrow genre at a rate that makes it a problem. You're still basically going top down. You're doing great and following a guideline for what it is--a guideline. Keep it up.
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About all I can really say in regards to you specifically is that if you're selling to the first place you submit half the time you may be a better writer than you think you are and might want to take a few more risks, even if it ain't the New Yorker.
I appreciate that advice.
I'm at the point now where I am submitting to some higher level places because I can see the improvement and progression in my writing and I know it's time to up my game a little because I can, I'm ready for it. I wouldn't have been a couple of years ago, IMO, of course. I don't think of it as risks anymore than submitting anywhere else, but I do know what you mean.
Good luck on the Asimov's, but yeah, that can be kind of constraining, especially when you have a story waiting at every big market. Then it's a real decision to wait or send a story elsewhere.
That story could be languishing in the upheaval at Weird Tales for months, or some other possibly higher-paying market that takes forever to form reject. This is a case where I think the sale to a place you really, really like, even if it doesn't pay pro rates, is far better than starting at "the top." Just the encouragement it gave you alone is worth a lot, you know?
So of your acceptances, 100% went to the first market so far. Enjoy that while it lasts.
Shelley
Writers tend not to be particularly good judges of their own writing. (You could be an anomoly there, so I'm not saying you.) I fall in the category of being not too sure myself. But I can see, looking back, my earlier submissions clearly had no chance at F&SF. The problem arises as your writing improves and you still can't tell how close you are. I've reached the point where I can sell to pro-paying markets, but how close am I to cracking F&SF? No clue. So I have to try them to be sure. You could miss the boat by not aiming for the stars when you're getting closer and I need to find two or three other metaphors to mix into this sentence...
But really, all it does is set you back a bit. It's the longer road to the top rather than the shorter one. I'm just trying to help get as many writers get on the shorter road (or what I think is the shorter road) as possible.
So of your acceptances, 100% went to the first market so far. Enjoy that while it lasts.
Shelley
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